Friday, July 19, 2013

Medical School May Not Be Option For Washington Illegal Immigrant

My opinion: Despite the fact that many Americans are against illegal immigration, many of these same people also believe that the immigrant may stay if he or she proves worthy enough. I'd say this guy here is certainly capable - I've never even heard of a teenager who became a professional in nursing to get more medical experience. It is interesting that the school does accept illegal immigrants for undergrad, but not for medical school. Perhaps medical schools do not want people who may not get licensed/into a residency, although the article never mentions if this is also a problem for illegal immigrants. So does this argument justify the school's policy? And what should America do about illegal immigrants who did not choose to come here, for example, if they were infants during immigration? Could this be combined with the rule that deems anyone born here a citizen, even if their parents are illegal immigrants? Feel free to comment.

Medical school beyond reach of UW grad brought here illegally

More than anything else, Simon Mendoza wants to be a doctor.
He was 13 when the idea morphed from childhood ambition into a real
goal — after his father suffered a workplace accident, and Mendoza as
his interpreter accompanied him to appointments and helped direct his
physical therapy.
At 16, he obtained a certified nursing assistant (CNA) license and,
volunteering with the Red Cross, traveled to Louisiana to help provide
medical care after Hurricane Gustav in 2008.
And just before he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in
microbiology from the University of Washington last year, Mendoza
started a free clinic to help deliver basic health care to those living
in rural areas of the state — including the little town of Royal City,
Grant County, where he grew up.
But for all he’s done to prepare, medical school remains only a
distant hope for the 22-year-old Mendoza, whose parents brought him to
the U.S. illegally from Mexico when he was less than a year old.
The UW School of Medicine, which he wants to attend, does not admit
people who are in the country unlawfully — a policy that exists at all
but one of the nation’s medical schools.
“If someone asked me to pick the one person I’d like to see
admitted (to medical school), he would be my choice,” said Jaime Lara, a
microbiology professor who retired in 2011 after nearly 40 years at the
UW, many of them on the admissions committee of the medical school.
“He’ll make an excellent physician one day.”
For undergraduate and all other graduate programs, the UW not only
accepts undocumented immigrants, but under state law also grants them
in-state tuition.